Worker at Aldeburgh golf club in Suffolk wins unfair dismissal claim as judge
rules there was a "witch hunt" against her

A worker at a championship golf course was forced out of her job after claiming a married female member had “squeezed” the club secretary’s bottom, a tribunal ruled.

A judge said Margaret Chadwick was subjected to a “witch hunt” after reporting claims of an inappropriate relationship between the woman and Bill Beckett - nicknamed the “Ayatollah” at a previous club due to his “dictatorial manner” .

Mrs Chadwick won a claim for unfair dismissal from Aldeburgh golf club in Suffolk and was awarded £50,000 in compensation, having been sacked for making “unprofessional and unfounded remarks” about Mr Beckett.

A tribunal heard how Mrs Chadwick was suspended as assistant secretary after telling a female captain that she had seen a woman “trying to squeeze Mr Beckett’s bottom” in the office at the club.

She also reported that members were discussing how Mr Beckett, 69, and the woman behaved inappropriately at a party.

The hearing was told how Mrs Chadwick, who lives with her husband Richard, 68, a solicitor, in Laxfield, Suffolk, was escorted from the club and dismissed two months later.

Employment Judge Robin Postle, accused the management of the club, which charges £1,000 per year for membership, of conducting a “witch hunt”, following her previously “unblemished service”.

The tribunal was told that Mrs Chadwick had worked for the club for almost four years without any complaints about her work until Mr Beckett took over as secretary in April 2012.

She claimed that he began to bully her within weeks of his arrival. She appealed a written warning made against her shortly after his arrival but the then club captain said Mr Beckett’s behaviour did not amount to bullying. “There has been no physical violence towards you,” he added.

Judge Postle said the captain had displayed “amazing ignorance, naivety and total misunderstanding of bullying and harassment”.

He added that Mr Beckett had set goals for Mrs Chadwick to achieve in her job “without any thought as to whether they were achievable”.

The tribunal heard how Mr Beckett - dubbed the “Ayatollah” in his previous post at Hadley Wood Golf Club in Hertfordshire - and the woman member both “categorically, vehemently and consistently” deny the claims of inappropriate behaviour.

The club, which was founded in 1884, accused Mrs Chadwick of spreading the rumours to discredit Mr Beckett. However Judge Postle said the conclusions of the club’s investigation into her supposed misconduct were “irrational and unreasonable”.

The judge added: “One cannot get away from the feeling that the claimant (Mrs Chadwick) was the victim of nothing short of a witch hunt, given the fact of her previous unblemished service prior to the arrival of Mr Beckett.”

Following the hearing in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Judge Postle ruled that Mrs Chadwick had been unfairly dismissed. Mrs Chadwick welcomed the decision, describing her dismissal as a “terrible ordeal”.

She added: “I’m not jumping for joy - I would rather have kept my job. But here we are and at least justice has been done - it’s a wonderful system.” Mrs Chadwick said she was still angry at the way she had been treated. “It hurts an awful lot,” she said.

Tim Rowan-Robinson, the club’s captain, described the ruling as “disappointing”.

He said: “The club refutes claims over Secretary Bill Beckett’s behaviour which was fully investigated at the time.

“This has been a trying time for all involved and we now want to put the matter firmly behind us.”

The welfare of staff had always been of “paramount importance” to the club, he added.

A spokesman added that Mr Beckett would be making “no further comment”.